RABT: "Hannah's Voice" by Robb Grindstaff Book Review/Giveaway (ends 3/15) WW

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Contemporary/Literary
Date Published: 1/15/13


When six-year-old Hannah's brutal honesty is mistaken for lying, she stops speaking. Her family, her community, and eventually, the entire nation struggle to find meaning in her silence.

School officials suspect abuse. Church members are divided—either she has a message from God or is possessed by a demon. Social workers interrupt an exorcism to wrest Hannah away from her momma, who has a tenuous grip on sanity. Hidden in protective foster care for twelve years, she loses all contact with her mother and remains mute by choice.

When Hannah leaves foster care at age eighteen to search for Momma, a national debate rages over her silence. A religious movement awaits her prophecy and celebrates her return. An anarchist group, Voices for the Voiceless, cites Hannah as its inspiration. The nation comes unhinged and the conflict spills into the streets when presidential candidates chime in with their opinions on Hannah—patriotic visionary or dangerous radical. A remnant still believes she is evil and seeks to dispatch her from this world.

Hannah stands at the intersection of anarchists and fundamentalists, between power politics and an FBI investigation. All she wants is to find her momma, a little peace and quiet, and maybe some pancakes.

One word would put an end to the chaos if Hannah can only find her voice.

EXCERPT

I hopped off her lap and ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth again, and brushed the devil out of them this time.

I crawled back into her lap, curled my lips up to show her how white and shiny they were, and exhaled my minty fresh breath for her to smell.

Her blue eyes sparkled behind her glasses like the biggest jewels in a treasure chest. "Oh lovely, what lovely teeth you have. You have your father's teeth."

I didn't have my father's teeth. His were still in his mouth, his lips closed tight over them. I'd kissed him goodnight last year at the church. Momma said he was going to sleep and would wake up with Jesus and the angels.

I didn't even have all of my own teeth. The two top front ones were gone, along with one on the bottom, so brushing the few I had left didn't take long. But I scrubbed them three times a day to make sure they were shiny and clean when I kissed Momma goodnight.

Author Bio:

In addition to a career as a newspaper editor, publisher, and manager, I’ve written fiction most of my life. The newspaper biz has taken my family and me from Phoenix, Arizona, to small towns in North Carolina and Texas, and from seven years in Washington, D.C., to five years in Asia. Born and raised a small-town kid, I’m as comfortable in Tokyo or Tuna, Texas. I now reside in a small community in Wisconsin where I manage the business operations of a daily newspaper. The variety of places I’ve lived and visited serve as settings for the characters who invade my head.

I’ve had a dozen short stories published in several print anthologies and e-zines, and several articles on the craft of writing fiction. My first novel, Hannah’s Voice, debuted January 15, 2013, and two more novels are in the works for 2013-14.

I also edit fiction and non-fiction books for authors from around the world. It helps that I’m fluent in five languages: U.S. English, U.K. English, Canadian English, and Australian English, plus my native language, Texan.

Hannah's Voice by Robb Grindstaff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I think it is safe to say that this will be unlike any story you have ever read, and this poignant, intriguing story will probably stick with you quite some time after you finish it.  It is haunting, thought-provoking, and probably contains more truth about the state of our country and world than we would like to admit.

Let me put out one warning.  There is some profanity--some of it rather "hardcore."  Let me be honest here.  The author used a lot of the profanity in such humorous ways that sometimes I was not even offended.  There were other times that I was offended, but it pointed out hypocrisy within the various characters.  I will admit that I could have done without some of it, but I was able to tolerate it.

I was so completely drawn into this story from the beginning, and the author certainly kept me guessing about various details from time to time within the story.  And he thankfully tied up the loose ends by the end of the book--very much appreciated!  This is a fairly quick read, but it packs a pretty powerful punch.

Speaking from a Christian perspective, I was not offended at the portrayal of Christians within this book.  So many "Christian" people are church-going hypocrites who put down people and live "like the devil."  I was quite amused at the depictions of these people and genuine impressed by the pastor and other genuine people in the church at the beginning of the story.  It is never preachy, but you will find much truth in this book.  I definitely recommend this book to the vast majority of my reraders.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.

View all my reviews

AUTHOR CONTACT INFO:

Website: http://robbgrindstaff.com/writing

Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/robbgrindstaffauthor

Twitter: @RobbWriter

On Evolved Publishing: http://www.evolvedpub.com/press/litfic/hannahs-voice/

Buy Links 

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